Losing Turtles

I guess this might be somewhat off topic, but it seems like the right place at the moment let it out. My friend and I bought two turtles in NYC back in October. We used to joke about whose turtle wore the pants and whose was going to dominate the other. We bought a tank and a setup, and soon it was clear that my turtle was the dominant one.

Over the months, I kept rubbing it in, and I joked about how my turtle beat his in every way. My turtle grew to about three times his original size, big and wide to the point where he could wolf down baby turtle sticks in one bite.

The smaller turtle never grew. He was never able to eat as much, but I thought he still ate something. So for the past week, I've seen him lose all appetite. I saw it happen slowly, and there was nothing I could do about it. I thought about separating them, and even tried, but it's already too late.

I guess I feel guilty over what happened. I never thought one turtle could actually starve out the other one. I'm pretty sure my turtle's dead now. I agonized over whether or not to pick him out of the water and put him on the log, but I was too late for even that.

I guess if there's anything more to it than a confession, it's that you should be careful if you're in the same situation. You would think that two turtles of the same species could live together nicely. You might even be loathe to separate two "siblings" and wonder if they would get lonely. Or maybe it would seem obvious to everyone else. But don't be like me, and watch one of your turtles die, only knowing what's happening when you're too late to stop it.